In the future, i may upgrade my 55 gallon malawi tank to a 125. If i were to do so, would i be able to add 4 or 5 frontosas? 1 male and 3 or 4 females, with bumblebee cichlids, auratus, orange zebra cichlids, and yellow labs? Would this work?
Front with Malawis?
- Thread starter badisbadis101
- Start date
No.
You can keep frontosa with some haps, thats about it. Mbuna will shred their fin extentions and the food requirements are different. Lots of frontosa will starve in a tank full of mbuna or peacocks because the other fish are quick frenzy feeders and the fronts are slow bottom feeders. So no, but you can keep frontosa with blue dolphin (c.moori), and the tanginikan compressiceps or calvus. some even do well with venustus if the venustus is peaceful and not aggressive. mine get along good with the venustus male i have, but he is wimpy. THey also get along with the red empress i have . All the other peacocks and mbuna i had to remove. Too aggressive and nippers.
So go with large peaceful piscavores and you should be ok. Some keep yellow labs with them but its hit or miss if they will shred the front fins and trailers.
You can keep frontosa with some haps, thats about it. Mbuna will shred their fin extentions and the food requirements are different. Lots of frontosa will starve in a tank full of mbuna or peacocks because the other fish are quick frenzy feeders and the fronts are slow bottom feeders. So no, but you can keep frontosa with blue dolphin (c.moori), and the tanginikan compressiceps or calvus. some even do well with venustus if the venustus is peaceful and not aggressive. mine get along good with the venustus male i have, but he is wimpy. THey also get along with the red empress i have . All the other peacocks and mbuna i had to remove. Too aggressive and nippers.
So go with large peaceful piscavores and you should be ok. Some keep yellow labs with them but its hit or miss if they will shred the front fins and trailers.
Okay - in theory, if i introduced the fronts first, and then introduced the other fish one at a time to observe their interaction, and then simply remove them if they cause problems? My bumblebee is a female who is quite placid for her size (8")
thanks for the input - maybe i will just have to have 2 tanks - one for tangs and the other for malawis 
- if only my parents would let me 
- if only my parents would let me 
I have successfully kept yellow labs and frontosas together for many years. The frontosas seem to dominate the tank. The labs dart around the rockwork. Although both species are spawning, very few labs ever make it.
I have since put them into their own tanks. The labs are now multiplying like crazy.
Good luck with your choice of tankmates.
I have since put them into their own tanks. The labs are now multiplying like crazy.
Good luck with your choice of tankmates.
It's a really bad idea for all of the above reasons.
When you get your 125 keep either a group of fronts in it or turn it into a big mbuna community. You unfortunately can't have both. I have personally kept frontosa with mbuna and I can attest to their incompatibility. The mbuna will be fine (they usually always are) but your frontosa will be wrecks.
When you get your 125 keep either a group of fronts in it or turn it into a big mbuna community. You unfortunately can't have both. I have personally kept frontosa with mbuna and I can attest to their incompatibility. The mbuna will be fine (they usually always are) but your frontosa will be wrecks.